DOT tourism logo: If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Did I read it right that the new logo of the Department of Tourism (DoT) that replaced the famous “Wow Philippines” logo is now “Pilipinas Kay Ganda?” Surely the DoT is kidding! What kind of tourists are they trying to lure with this logo that screams in bold Tagalog??? Is the tourist target under P-Noy only targeting only balikbayans? I would like to believe that logos for tourism should at least be in English so that anyone interested to come here would understand our new brand for tourism.

This is the problem with our system of governance… when the new kids on the block take over they replace the programs of the previous administration even if it was already working and put in their own ideas, which is largely untested! The Americans have a saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” This is why the Philippines never moves forward in this global race for prosperity because everytime there is a new government, it is like everyone goes back to the starting grid and start all over again!

There was nothing wrong with the Wow Philippines campaign of the DoT which actually began under then Tourism boss Richard “Dick” Gordon and carried on under the administration of former DoT Chief Ace Durano. In fact when we went to Shanghai a couple of months back, the trolley traversing the famous tourism destination in Nanjing Road still had a Wow Philippines logo painted in blue showing the white Beaches of Boracay and the Chocolate Hills of Bohol. If the logo Pilipinas Kay Ganda was placed on that trolley, potential tourist might not understand those Tagalog words.

This reminds me of the Q&A when Pres. Noynoy Aquino was in Cebu when he was asked by tourism industry insiders what were his plans for tourism and PNoy said, “We now have a new website and we’re launching a new logo.” To be perfectly honest, there was nothing wrong with the old website and the old Wow Philippines logo. If there’s anything seriously wrong, it is the bad attitude of the P-Noy administration that came into power frothing in the mouth filled with hate against the previous administration under PGMA, this is why they want to change anything remotely attached to her administration. If a new website and a new logo is all that the DoT can do under the Aquino regime, then I’m sorry for our tourism industry!

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For the past two years we’ve written articles that the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in Cebu City was dubbed by the IT research group called Tholons as the top Emerging BPO Destination in the world. But in truth many IT insiders were not happy that Cebu was always on the “emerging” list, even if we are number one on that list. After many years, you can say that Cebu should have already matured as a BPO destination.

Well, the good news is, Tholons just reported that Cebu City has finally moved up from its emerging status to become the 9th top Business Outsourcing Cities of the world. Incidentally, six of the top nine are Indian cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Chennai. The other two cities are Manila and Dublin in Ireland. Yes, Manila has emerged a long time ago.

This happened to Cebu despite the childish political bickering of our politicians. You can just imagine how much further Cebu can move forward if our political leaders paddled their canoes in the same direction. Let us hope that Cebu can improve its standing against the leaders in the BPO industry, most of whom are Indian cities.

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Last Friday, we attended the luncheon meeting at the Radisson Blu with the new Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Christopher Thornley who replaced my good friend Amb. Robert Desjardins. With the entourage of the Canadian Ambassador is Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CCCP) President Julian Payne and Executive Director Sean Georget who were escorted by Mr. Canada himself, my good friend Canadian Honorary Consul Robert Lee who is the number one promoter of Canada in Cebu.

For too long, the Canadian Chamber didn’t have a presence in Cebu, although we’ve always met with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which has done great many things in Central Visayas to uplift the poor, especially the basket weavers in Bohol that had ready buyers in Canada. Mr. Payne told us that with the help of the new Ambassador Thornley, CCCP will establish a Cebu Chapter, which would now promote the business interests not only of Canada, but it would also promote trade with Cebu as well. This is what the American Chamber (Amcham) has been doing for so many years in Cebu. I’m sure that there are many Cebuanos who are dual citizens of the Philippines and Canada who are waiting to be tapped as members of the Canadian Chamber.

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For e-mail   responses to this article, write to [email protected] or vsbobita @gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.